LOVE Island star Wes Nelson has told how his rocketing fame and blossoming bank balance has been “taxing mentally.”
The engineer, who originally coupled up with Laura Anderson then ditched her for Megan Barton Hanson on the matchmaking show, has starred on a host of prime TV programmes since his stint in the Mallorca villa.
Yet while the wages rolled in, his “downward spiral” took hold.
Wes, who stayed with fellow Love Island 2018 star Megan until January 2019, admitted to Jamie Laing‘s Private Parts podcast he had recently suffered from depression.
Speaking of his new-found fame, the aspiring musician told the Made In Chelsea star: “It’s taxing mentally; I’ve never felt any sort of depression until I started making a lot more money because you have a fear of losing it.
“It’s not a direct fear of losing stuff, but that’s when a lot of people can go crazy when you feel like any moment it can go. And that’s when people try to take control of the situation and go on a downward spiral themselves.”
Host Jamie then directly asked the Staffordshire-born star if he suffered from anxiety, to which he replied: “Proper, it was actually quite recently.
“When I started doing live shows and I had a chest infection, I can just remember the anxiety, no one wants to hear ‘I’ve got a chest infection and I’m a Wembley’ before you’re about to perform.
“All they see is that Wes Nelson has a terrible performance. That was over my head, I was like is all of this going to come crashing down because I have a chest infection. That year proper anxiety kicked in.”
He added: “I just feel London is a very lonely city, one of the busiest cities in the world, I think it’s one of the loneliest cities in the world. I just get very lonely I think.
“I’ve got my Mrs but she’s gone away for Christmas to see her family. It’s just a very lonely city; it’s hard to find out who’s real.”
NEW ROMANTIC
HOAR Online recently exclusively revealed how Wes is dating the daughter of Candyman millionaire tobacco tycoon Travers Beynon.
He is so smitten with stunning Lucciana he wrote his debut solo track Say Nothing about how they met.
The Australian swimwear model, 20, who lives in London, was first linked to the former Love Island star in May of this year and they have been dating ever since.
A source said: “Wes and Lucciana hit it off straight away. They both have super busy schedules but have made it work.
“Lucciana loves the fact Say Nothing is about her and she’s blown away by how successful he’s been with his music so far – and the hard work he puts in.
“Wes can’t believe his luck that he’s bagged someone like Lucciana – she’s incredibly attractive and really fun to be around.
“She super close to her dad Travers and luckily he’s a big fan of Wes’s. They are planning a trip Down Under together soon to see him.”
On the track, Wes sings: “Baby dressed to the nines. She a ten, no, really, really. She wanna slide to the ends. Come see me, see me.”
TV CAREER
Post villa life, Wes continued his run in showbiz after landing a spot as a contestant on the 11th series of Dancing On Ice.
On the ITV series, the social media guru and his dancing partner Vanessa Bauer came second in the intense competition – but it was enough for Wes to prove that there’s more to him than a pretty face.
Other shows he’s made appearances on include 8 Out of 10 Cats, where he was a guest panelist, and The Crystal Maze.
In March, Wes had exclusively told HOAR that he was looking to pursue a career in music, explaining how his experience on Dancing On Ice – which required him to put on a show every week – is what led him to try out the venture.
Open and honest, Wes gushed about Brian McFadden taking him under his wing by potentially signing up to his record label and releasing R&B and pop music.
He said: “I’ve caught the performance bug now. When you finish a routine, you get that overwhelming feeling.
“Performing is so enjoyable and I see why everyone love it now. I sang on Love Island but producers never showed it because of copyright reasons. We were singing all the time.
“I’ve been speaking to Brian’s label and they had a meeting with me.”
